Typewriting machine



//7 vemor: Q M/WM 31. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITINGMACHINE Filed March Feb. 26 1924'.

Feb. 26 1924.

J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed March 31. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet ZPatented Feb. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE A. B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT. ASSIG-NOR TO UNDERW'OODTYPE WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. YJ, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed March 31, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jnssn A. B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States.residing in Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTypewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to collating devices,

and is in the nature of an improvement on the patent to B. C. Stickney,et al., No. 1,295,383, granted February 25, 1919.

In Underwood standard typewriters, feed-rolls to co-operate with theplaten are supported by arms or levers loosely mounted on a rodextending from end to end of the platen-frame, and provision is made ofa cast-off shaft having flats thereon with which the supporting armsco-operate when the feed-rolls are in their effective positions. Thisshaft is provided with an arm, usually at its right-hand end, and a linkconnects the arm to the usual release-lever, actuation of which willrock the cast-0E shaft and withdraw the feed-rolls from the platen.

In carrying out the invention, provision may be made of a collatingtable extending upwardly and rearwardly from the delivery side of theplaten and having a side-edge so gage at its left-hand edge. Clips mayalso be provided to hold work-sheets against the collating table nearthe side-edge gage, and

these clips may be yieldably held, as by springs, in either effective orineffective position. The'clips, when in efiective position, may berestored to inefiective position by suitable means, such as a bailextending along the same.

The feed-rolls and clips maybe controlled.

40 by a single manually-operable member,

preferably in the form of a pivoted fingerpiece. To this end, thecast-ofi shaft may be provided, preferably at the end opposite to thatconnected to the cast-01f or releaselever, with an arm, and to this armmay be attached a link having a fiat or plate-like upper end, a straightedge of which is held in guiding relation with the pivot of thefinger-piece by suitable means, such as a spring. Connection between thepivoted finger-piece and the link may be efiected by Serial No. 457,372.

means of a projection or stud on the former engaging in slots in theflat head of the link. In order to permit release of said cast-01f shaftwithout shifting the finger-piece, the upper end of the link is providedwith a vertical slot so that, when the finger-piece is positionedwith-its stud at the upper end of the slot, the feed-rolls may be castoff by the usual release-lever, the slotted link mov ing idly withreference to the finger-piece.

.To enable the feed-rolls to be cast off or released by thefinger-piece, the flat end of the link is provided with a slot leadingfrom the upper end of the first slot and in such a direction that, whenthe finger-piece is swung to carry the stud into the last-mentionedslot, the link will be lifted sufliciently to cast off the feed-rolls.

Upon the return of the finger-piece to its normal or neutral positionwith its'stud at the upper end of the vertical slot, the feedrolls willhave been restored to their'eife'ctive position. It may then bedesirable to actuate the bail to restore any effectively positionedclipto ineffective position. To this end, the flat upper end of the linkis provided with a slot extending from the upper end of the verticalslot and extending in an arc of a circle about the pivot of thefinger-piece so that the finger-piece may be shifted without shiftingthe link to engage a member connected with the bail and actuate thesame. It will be seen'that, dur ing the movement of the stud through thelast-mentioned slot, .the link and cast-off shaft will be locked againstmovement.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

Inthe accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of an Underwood standardtypewriter with the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a sectional view, taken from above, of the mechanism shownin Figure 1,

certain .parts being omitted.

Figure 3 is a detail view of certain parts shown in Figure 2, indicatingthe manner in which the clips are yieldably held in either efiective orineffective position.

Figure 4 is a sectional-side view, showing all the parts in their normalpositions.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure i, but with the teed-rolls cast of?and the clips in closed or effective position.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but showing a clip closed.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but with the controllingfinger-piece shifted to its extreme forward position, to restore thefeed-rolls to effective position relative to the platen, and to returnall efiectively positioned clips to ineffective position.

A platen 1 is rerolubly supported by means of an axle 2, journaled inthe ends of a platen-frame 3, and the platen 1 may be rotated either bya hand-knob lor by line-spacc mechanism, comprising a linespace wheellVork-sheets may he gripped to the platen 1 by means of front and rearfeed-rolls 6, the front feed-rolls 6 being carried on a shaft 8,supported by levers 7, which are rotatably mounted on a rod 9,connecting the ends of the platen-frame, and the rear teed-rolls 6 beingcarried by a shaft 10, supported in levers 11, rotatably mounted on saidrod 9. The lovers 7 and 11 are provided with downwardlyextending arms 12and 13, respectively, which normally lie adjacent fiat surfaces or flatson a rock-shaft 14-. The shaft 1% may be provided at one of its ends,preferably at the right, with an arm 16, which may be connected by alink 17 with the usual cast-off or release-lever 1S. Normally, thefeed-rolls 6 are held in engagement with the platen. 1, as seen inFigure 4, by means of springs (not shown), and, when the cast-oif'lever18 is depressed, by means of its finger-piece 19, the link 17 will bedrawn upwardly and the rockshaft 1% turned to the position shown inFigure 5, thereby casting off the feed-rolls.

A collating table or front paper-table 20, having its lower edge.adjacent the platen and extending upwardly and rearwardly from thedelivery side of the platen. may be supported. on the platen-frame inany suitable manner. The collating table is provided at its left-handedge with a side-edge gage 21. in whichare notches 22, to receivesuitably-shaped clips rotatably mounted on a rod 24. lying outside ofthe side-edge gage 21 and parallel thereto. the clips 23 being held ineither effective or ineffective position by means of springs 25, securedto the back of the table 20 in position to engage fiat surfaces 26 and27 on the hubs of the clips accordingly as the clips are in effective orineffective position. The rod 2% is supported in brackets 28, secured.to the side-edge gage 21.

In practice. the feed-rolls 6 are in castofi' position while the sheetsare being collated or adjusted on the table 20. and. the clips 23 aremanipulated. in any manner desired. to assist in holding the collatedsheets in position, but, when the feed-rolls are restored to the platen,to enable the collated sheets to be fed forward together, all of theclips should be released. In order to insure release of all the clipswhen the teed-rolls are restored to the platen, and to obtainco-ordination between the parts, provision may he made of amanually-operable member or handle 32, pirotally mounted. on a stud 3Oprojecting from a bracket 31 on the adjacent end of the platen-frame 3.and having a stud 33 thereon projecting into a three-part slot 3% in aflat portion or plate 3;) at the upper end of a link 36, which isconnected at its lower end to a second arm it) at the left-hand end ofthe bait 11 The link 36 may be guided in ts reciprocating movement bymeans of a straight edge on the plate 35, which engages the stud 30, andis yield-ably held in contact therewith by means of a spring connectedat one end to a pin on the plate and at the other end to a pin on thebracket- 31.

When the handle 82 is in its normal or neutral position (shown in Figure4C)., it will lie at the upper end of a vertical slot 39, forming onebranch of the three-part slot 3%, and, it the cast-oft lever 18 isoperated, the link 36 will have an idle movement with reference to thestud 33, the front and rear feed-rolls 6 being cast of? in the usualmanner. If, however, the handle 32 is depressed from theposition shownin Figure 4 to that shown in Figure 5. the stud 33 will move forwardlyin a slot slsubstantially at right angles to slot 39, and the link 36will be raised so as to cast oif the teed-rolls 6, as seen in Figure 5.

The handle 32 may also be used to restore to ineiiective position one orboth of the clips 2 which may be effectively positioned to holdwork-sheets against the lable 20. To this end, a bail -11 may be mountedon rod 21- and an arm 42 on the bail connected by a. link 43 with a bellcrank-lever 4.4.. mounted on the stud 30, and having a pin i5 extendingacross the path of the handle 32. il hen one or both of the clips 23 isdepressed, the bail will be shifted to its lowest position, the link 43will be raised. and the bell-crank-lever 4 lshifted to the full-lineposition, shown in Figure 6. It. then. the handle 32 is restored fromits Figure 6 to its Figure -l position, the Feed-rolls 6 will berestored to effective position with the platen. and. upon furthermovement ol the handle 32. the stud 2 will travel along a slot 46.forming part of the three-part slot 34;. the slot as being so shaped asto he concentric with the stud 30 when the link 36 is in its Figure lposition, thereby permitting movement of the handle 32 without shiftingthe link. During this part of its movement,

the handle 32 will engage the pin 45 and move the bell-crank-lever 44:from the position shown in full lines in Figure 6 to that shown inFigure 7, thereby depressing the link 43 and rocking the bail 11 toinsure the restoration of clips 23 to ineffective position.

In this connection, it will be seen that, as soon as the stud 33 entersthe slot 46, the link 36 will be locked in its depressed position, andactuation of the shaft 14 by the. cast-off lever 18 will be. prevented.Furthermore, if the link 36 has been lifted due to the actuation ofcast-off lever 18, the handle 32 will be locked against movement in thedirection to engage pin f5 and restore the clips 23 to theirineifectiveposition. \Vhen link 36 has been lifted by means oflever 18so that stud 33 lies in slot 39, any attempt to actuate handle 32 in aclockwise direction (Figure 4) will urge plate35 against the fixed stud30. Although only two clips 23are disclosed, it is obvious that a largernumber may be used if desired.

In practice, a record or proof sheet is kept in the machines and ledgerand statement sheets are inserted and collated on the outside thereofwhen entries are to be made. During this operation, the feedrolls are inreleased or cast-off positions so as not to interfere with the relativeshifting of the work-sheets, and the clips are shifted as desired totheir effective position to hold the collated sheets in position on thecollating table. Upon completion of the collating operation, the feedrolls are restored to the platen and the clips are shifted toineffective or released position. In order that the work-sheets -mayalways be under control, the mechanism is so designed that handle 32cannot be moved to a position to release the clips 23 until thefeed-rolls 6 arerestored to positions to enable them to co-operate withthe platen, irrespective of the casting off of the feedrolls 6 by handle32 or finger-piece 19. That is to say, the handle 32 when used tocast-off the feed-rolls 6 must be moved to its neutral position torestore the feedrolls to their effective positions before it can bemoved to release any of the clips which may be in effective position,and, if the feed-rolls 6 are cast-off by finger-piece 19, handle 32 willbe locked against move ment to release the clips.

The work-sheets may be inserted at the front of the platen. In thiscase, the sheets are first placed upon the collating table and gagedunder the clips, their lower ends being then slipped down at the frontof the platen into the space between the platen and the feed-rolls.

It may be desirable not to place the top sheet, which is to have the inkribbon impression, under the clipsl This sheet may then be held inposition on the platen by hand until the feed-rolls, which have stoodreleased during. the collating operation, have been restored.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, andportions of the mprovements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1.In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of acollating table at the delivery side thereof, a rod extending along aside edge of said table, a plurality of clip members mounted on said rodfor individual movement into and out of position to clamp work-sheetsagainst said table, yielding means to retain the clip members ineffective posit-ion when so placed, and means to return theeffectively-positioned clip members to ineffective position including abail mounted on said rod, so that when swung from its normal position itwill engage all effectively-positioned clips and shift them toineffective position.

2.'In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of acollating table at the delivery side thereof, said table having aside-edge gage,-a rod extending along said side-edge gage on the outerside thereof, a plurality of clip members mounted on said rod forindividual movement into and out of effective position to clampworksheets against the table, and means to restore the effectivelypositioned clip memhere to ineffective posit-ion including a bail onsaid rod which may engage the effectively-positioned clip members,between said rod and said side-edge gage, and restore the same toineffective position.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen andpaper-feeding devicesbearing upon the same, of a collating table at thedelivery side of the platen, a plurality of individually actuable clipmembers along one side of the table to hold work upon the latter,cast-off means for said paper-feeding devices, a manually operablemember, and means whereby movement of said member to one position willeffect restoration of effectively-positioned clip members to ineffectiveposition and simultaneously lock the cast-off means against actuation. 7

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen andpaper-feeding devices bearing upon the same, of a collating table at thedelivery side of the platen, a plurality of individually actuable clipdevices along one side of the table'to hold' work upon the latter,cast-off means for said paper-feeding devices including a finger-piecefor controlling the same, a manually operable member, connectionsbetween said cast-off means and said member such that in one position ofthe latter the former may be actuated by its finger-piece withoutshifting said member, and that when the member is moved to anotherposition the finger-piece may be locked against actuation, and meansactuated by said member, in its movement to the last-mentioned position,to shift any effectively-positioned clip device to ineffective position.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, ofpaper-controlling means comprising paper-feeding devices to bear uponthe platen, cast-off means for said devices including a cast-off lever,a manually operable member, and means whereby movement of said member toone position will prevent actuation of said castoff means, movement to asecond position will permit actuation of said castoff lever, andmovement to a third position will actuate said cast-oif means.

6. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, ofpaper-controlling means comprising paper-feeding devices to bear uponthe platen, cast-off means for said devices including a cast-off lever,a manually operable member, means whereby movement of said member to oneposition will prevent actuation of said cast-off means, movement to asecond position will'permit actuation of said cast-off lever, andmovement to a third position will actuate said cast-off means, a clipdevice to hold work which has been inserted in the machine, and meanswhereby movement of said member to the first position will render saidclip device ineffective if effective at that time.

7. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a feed-roll torun thereon, a feed-roll cast-off device, a handle to actuate saidcast-off device, a manually operable member, a connection between saidmember and said cast-off device including a stud on said member, and ashiftable plate slotted to receive said stud, movement of said stud toone position in said plate effecting locking of said device, movement ofsaid member to a second position releasing said device from control ofsaid member, and movement to a third position serving to actuate saidcast-off device.

8. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rollmechanism to cooperate therewith, a cast-off shaft to render saidfeed-roll mechanism ineffective, a pivot, a lever mounted on said pivot,a link connected to an arm of said cast-off shaft and having a flatportion adjacent said pivot, means to hold said link against said pivotfor guiding purposes, and a stud on said lever engaging in slots in saidflat portion, said slots extending in different directions from a commonpoint, one extending longitudinally of the link to permit reciprocationof the latter independently of the lever when the stud is at the commonpoint, another being substantially perpendicular to the first-mentionedslot whereby the link may be actuated by said stud without being forcedfrom its substantially rectilinear path, and a third slot beingconcentric with the pivot of said lever when the cast-off shaft is inineffective position, so that the lever may be shifted to move said studalong the third slot withoutshifting the link.

9. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rollsnormally co-operating therewith, a cast-off lever, a device operable bysaid cast-off lever to cast off said feeda'olls, a collating table atthe'delivery side of the platen, clips to co-operate with said tablesupported at one edge thereof, means to yieldably hold said clips ineffective or ineffective position, a device universal to said clips toshift effectively-positioned clips to ineffective position, acontrolling member so related to said universal device that movement ofsaid member in one direction from its normal position will actuate saiduniversal device, and means whereby actuation. of the cast-off device bysaid cast-off lever will lock said controlling member to preventactuation thereby of the universal device.

10. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rolls toco-operate therewith, a cast-off finger-piece, a device operable by saidfinger-piece to cast off said feed-rolls, acollating table at thedelivery side of the platen, clips supported adjacent said table to.hold work-sheets against the same, a device universal to said clips toshift effectively-positioned clips to ineffective position, acontrolling member so related to said universal device that movement ofsaid member from its normal position in one direction will actuate saiduniversal device, and means whereby movement of said memher from itsnormal position in the opposite direction will actuate the cast-offdevice, said means being such that actuation of said finger-piece willlock said member against movement from its normal position to actuatesaid universal device, and movement of said member from its normalposition in a direction to actuate said universal device will lock saidfinger-piece against movement from its normal position.

11. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rolls toco-operate therewith, a manually operable cast-off device for saidfeed-rolls, a collating table extending from the delivery side of theplaten, a plurality of releasable clips to hold worksheets a gainst thecollating table, a releasing device universal to said clips, acontrolling member having a neutral position and being shiftabletherefrom in different directions to two other positions, movement ofsaid member in one of said directions effecting actuation'ofsaidreleasing device, and a connection between-said memberv and saidcast-off device whereby the latter may be ac-.

tuated when said member is in neutral position, but, when actuated, willlock said member againstmovement to actuate said releasing device, andwhereby if saidmember is moved in the direction to release the clips itwill-lock said cast-off device, and if said member is moved in the otherdirection from its neutral position it will actuate said cast-offdevice.

12. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rolls torunon the bottom thereof, a collating table at the delivery side of theplaten, a plurality of individually-settable clips along one side of thetable to hold work-sheets on the latter, feed-roll-cast-off means, amanually-operable member, means whereby movement of said member in onedirection from its normal position will actuate said cast-off means, andmovement in another direction will lock the cast-off means againstactuation, and means whereby the locking movement of said member willrestore all effectively-positioned clips to ineffective position.

13. In a typewriting machine, in combi-v nation, a. platen, feed-rollsto run on the bottom thereof, a collating table at the delivery side ofthe platen, a plurality of individua ly-settable clips along one side ofthe table to hold work-sheets on the latter, feed-rollcast-ofi means, amanually-operable member, means whereby movement of said member in onedirection from its normal position will actuate said cast-off means, andmovement in another direction will lock the castofi' means againstactuation, and means whereby the locking movement of said member willrestore all eflectivelyositioned clips to ineffective position, the cip-restoring means being out of the control of said member when saidclips are in ineffective position, but being placed under the control ofsaid member when any one of said clips is moved to effective position.

14. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platenand feedrolls to run thereon, of collating means for work-sheetsincluding means for detainin said sheets in collated position, cast-omeans for said feed-rolls including a cast off key, a manually-operablemember, and means whereby movement of said member to one position willlock said cast-off key in in efiective position and will render saiddetaining means ineffective, movement to a second position will permitactuation of said cast-off means and movement to a third position willactuate said cast-off means.

15. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platenand feedrolls to run thereon, of collating means for work-sheetsincluding means for detaining said Q sheets in collated position,cast-off means forsaid feed-rolls including a castofii key, amanually-operable member, and means whereby movement of said member toone position will lock said cast-off key in inefiective position andwill render-said detaining means ineffective, movement to a secondposition willpermitactuation of said cast-off means and the consequentlocking of said member, and movement to a third position will actuatesaid cast-off means.

16. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a cylindrical platen-andcollating means associated therewith, said collating means including acollating table at, the delivery side of the platen, a rod adjacent andparallel to one side edge of the collating table, a spring-finger orclip to detain a work-sheet on said table, said spring-finger being pivoted on said rod, spring-means to maintain said finger in effectiveposition or to press the same against the table, and means for swingingsaid finger from effective to ineffective position comprising a bailpivoted on said rod, said bail being of suflicient length to co-operatewith said finger at whatever position the latter may occupy along aconsiderable portion of the length of said rod.

17. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rolls torun thereon, a collating table, means to detain collated Work-sheets onsaid table, feed-roll-cast-off means including a finger-piece foractuating the same, a special finger-piece whereby said detaining meansmay be rendered ineffective, and connections whereby actuation of thecast-0E means may be effected by either of said finger-pieces, actuationof the cast-off finger-piece locking the special finger-piece againstmovement to render the-detaining means ineffective, and actuation of thespecial finger-piece to render the detaining means ineffective lockingthe cast-off means against operation. I

18. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, feed-rolls torun on the bottom thereof, a collating table, meanstodetain collatedwork-sheets on said table, means to cast-off said feed-rolls, a fingerpiece, and means whereby said finger-piece may either actuate saidcast-off means or render said detaining means ineffective.

19. Ina typewriting machine, in combinatom thereof, a collating table,means to de-- tain collated Work-sheets onsaid table,- means to cast-offsaid feed-foils, a finger-- piece, and means whereby'sa-id finger-piecemay either actuate said cast-off means :01

i'ender said detaining means ineffective, said cast-ofi' means beinglock'ed against operation when said finger-piece is used to render d asaid said detaining means inefl'ective,

finger-piece being locked against movement to render said detainingmeans inefi'ective byactuation of said cast-off means independent ofsaid finger-piece.

' 21. In a type-Writing machine, in combination, a platen feed-rolls torun onlthe botmemos tom thereof, a collating table, means totdetaincollated worksheets von said table, means to cast-ofi' said'feed-rolls,a fingerpiece, and means whereby said finger-piece mayeither actuatesaid cast-off: meansho-r, 2o

V JESSE A.'B.. SMITH.

- WVitnesses MARION R; MOGAFFREY, J ENNIE P. 'TI-IORNE.

